Inflatable Buyer's Guide

[lester]

I was poking through the inflatable/rib forum here and was thinking it would be nice for interested buyers of all kinds if we created a thread showing what boat, motor, top speed, gas consumption and primary usage you get with your inflatable or rib. I know when I was looking to buy, I knew that getting an inflatable boat would go faster and use less gas than any comparable solid hull boat, but I would have loved to see something like this to help me buy the right boat and motor for my needs. Also feel free to post a photo of your setup so newbs can get an idea of what they might be getting in to.

-Saturn SD365 Red 12'
-2002 Yamaha 15hp two stroke
-28 mph top speed with just driver(radar)
-Ran a total of 27 miles in a two day camping trip(loaded) and only used 3 gallons
-Primarily used for pleasure and tow sports

 

[deejaycee_2000]

Re: Inflatable Buyer's Guide

Ceasar fukumoto 8 race thundercat
2008 Tohatsu 50hp D2 (blueprinted)
gives 7,5 miles to the gallon running at 6500 rpm
Max speed 70mph using a 18p Mercury racing cleaver prop

 

[ron7000]

Re: Inflatable Buyer's Guide

avon RIB310, 10' with 1-piece fiberglass hull & transom
25hp yamaha 2-stroke (factory)
turbo hotshot 10.125x15 prop
no lifejackets, no numbers, no license
40-41mph on rangefinder in optimal conditions,
little more than half the speed but 1/4 the cost of above boat

 

[jspringator]

Re: Inflatable Buyer's Guide

Lester, whats you speed with you, wife, and child? I'm thinking of getting a new Yamaha 15 2 stroke to replace my 1975 Evinrude 25. Seems like I have some sort of problem every tome I go out...

 

[lester]

Re: Inflatable Buyer's Guide

JSP, not at the that point in life to have the wife and child, but with myself and two (120lb) ladies, the boat will run about 21mph(from what I remember) with the Yammie 15hp two stroke. If you are just looking for a motor to cruise, this one is perfect, I seriously have never had a motor that was so reliable, even girls can manually start this one...like butter. I just want a 25 hp to be able to do tow sports a little faster...you can get away with wakeboarding with the 15 hp if you do a swooping pickup to get going. Overall, I would highly recommend the 15 if you are just looking for a nice day out with the wife and kids. By the way, I have the lifters made by maxi marine, and I think they help a lot with getting on a plane, so when I refer to my speeds and reports, it is always with these installed. Remember the 15 hp lugging with 3 people to get on a plane before I had the lifters. Also if you are interested, this motor has great gas consumption, barely anything, I can actually afford to boat even with $4/gallon prices.

 

[jspringator]

Re: Inflatable Buyer's Guide

Lester, the 25 is only $300 more, but approximately 30 pounds heaver. I use the boat when I RV and will have to carry it from the RV and mount it to the back of the inflatable at the beginning of each weeks use. I have help. Decisions, decisions!

 

[lester]

Re: Inflatable Buyer's Guide

JSP, I'm going to start a new thread for this so we overtake this one.

 

[nexus]

Re: Inflatable Buyer's Guide

- 2003 Achilles SG140 (~14')
- 2003 yamaha F40 (40hp 4 stroke) bolted through the transom
- Smart Tabs SX
- 10gallon tank
- Aluminum Floor
- Speed drain tubes mounted in the transom

With two 200lb+ adult guys, full dive gear/tanks for 2 divers, and full tank this will pop on plane with authority and plane with ease. Never had it on a lake but on relatively smooth ocean water I've seen 25mph+ gps speeds with about 1/2-3/4 throttle. This was prior to installation of the smart tabs and before I had a proper manometer to safely inflate the tubes to max pressure. I'm sure I would see 30+ with tabs and correct pressure.

 

[Shaw]

Re: Inflatable Buyer's Guide

As I would have loved to see this info before I bought mine, I better post my ducky.

Aquapro Europa 240 2.4m
Honda 2hp 4-stroke Air cooled
Integrated 1 litre tank runs for hours
Max speed is under 8 knots

Used 99% as a tender - does a good job of that with a young family of four. Does get wet bum if there is any wavelets. Honda is noiser at WOT than I would have liked. Speed is slower than I would have liked.

BUT, with all the cons, I would not change this simply because it is so easy to pump up and fit the motor. Even in swells on the water it is easily handled. And at the end of the trip, the whole lot folds up and gets stored in the engine bay.

 

[Howard Sterndrive]

Re: Inflatable Buyer's Guide

Inflatables are usually bought sans water test, so I would add that the larger the tube dia., the better the ride (generally). So if comparing two, it is important.

 

[hebby]

Re: Inflatable Buyer's Guide

Zodiac FC470, 50hp Honda 4stroke. Being set up as I write this so I haven't had it in the water yet. Should be fast though.

 

[Sea Rider]

Re: Inflatable Buyer's Guide

380 Red Rider by Sea Rider
Tohatsu 18 HP, 2 strokes, short shaft
Akron Fabric 1.2 mm
Tube Diameter: 0.45 Mt.
Reinforced Aluminum Floor
Reinforced Lower Tubes, Side Joinners Ends, Akron Patches)
Pressure Inflated : 3.6 PSI / 0.25 Bar, including keel.
Interior Driven (find more confortable to drive than sitting on tubes)
Tiller Extension 0.7 Mt. (Helps self drive sitting on middle floor towards bow)
All around Ropetie, Bow Bag, Sib Cover.
Bow 6.5 Gal Gas Tank, Extra Gas Hose.
Tiny Tach/Hour Meter, Manometer, Marine VHF Radio.
Anchor Box, Anchor/2 Mt chain & 20 Mt rope.
Deck Plastic Carpet, Canopy, Trailer.
Speed: On flat waters, no wind + two 400 pounds mates + gear = 25 knots/hour.
Usage: For what your imagination wishes, (Play with Sea Lions)

Manometer & Canopy a must issues specially in plain summer (highly recommended)

 

[Howard Sterndrive]

Re: Inflatable Buyer's Guide

Old 1986 Avon Rover 3.4m hypalon
Old 1975 25 Johnson- uses a lot of fuel for a 25
31 mph top speed
small dia tubes = brutal ride over waves, but fun on smooth water
1 person boat only
gets really boring really quickly when you add a second person
pulls a tube or skier ok, but not very well with a spotter on board so not recommended for that
old Avons are cheap durable used boats
I use it for fishing. The Todd bow storage locker is the best addition I have ever made to a boat. Can put an anchor and spare prop in there with no fear of them damaging the tubes. Wallet and cell phone too - it's dry and lockable.

 

[jlh4480]

Re: Inflatable Buyer's Guide

Bombard Typhoon 305 10'
6HP Tohatsu 4 stroke
Max speed with 320lbs of "people" weight 15.6 (average 14.5mph)
Max speed with 1 185lb person was 18.8
At wot it uses about half a gallon of gas an hour